Germany records more than 3,000 heat deaths in 2023 – 10/02/2023 – Environment

Around 3,100 people have died in Germany this year due to high temperatures, said a preliminary report from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the national public health agency.

According to the agency, most heat-related deaths involved those aged 75 and over. Mortality was also higher among women than men, but this may be related to the fact that there are more elderly women than elderly men in Germany.

Despite the high number of deaths, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach indicated that the situation could be even worse, mentioning that a heat protection plan launched by the government this year prevented deaths from exceeding the 4,000 mark. “Many lives were saved,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The plan included a launch of messages aimed at the elderly and people with comorbidities so that they could better protect themselves in extreme heat, among other measures.

Comparison with other years

In 2022, the RKI had reported 4,500 heat-related deaths, but stressed that the number was exceptionally high last summer thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

When analyzing the last decade, the years that recorded the highest mortality were 2015, 2018 and 2019, each with more than 6,000 deaths.

In 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021, the estimated number of deaths was significantly lower, at between 1,000 and 1,700 per year. “These differences can be attributed to the different degrees of heat episodes,” the report says.

Why heat kills

The RKI further explained that the numbers of deaths related to high temperatures are an estimate using statistical methods, combining death rates from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) and temperature measurements from the German Meteorological Service (DWD).

In most cases, the combination of heat and preexisting conditions leads to death. Death certificates rarely have heat listed as the cause of death.

Heat kills because it increases the risk of health problems, as the body’s organs, such as the kidneys or heart, are affected by the increase in internal temperature.

People with underlying health conditions are more vulnerable to extreme temperatures.

Deadly heat waves around the world

Deadly heat waves are becoming more common every year due to climate change, scientists say. And temperatures are even higher now after more than half a century of burning coal and oil, they say.

A report from the European climate service Copernicus stated that August this year was the hottest August ever recorded with modern equipment, and that 2023, so far, has been the second hottest year.

Germany, in turn, had the hottest September in its history, DWD reported on Friday (29/09). With an average temperature of 17.2°C, it was the hottest and second sunniest September since meteorological measurements began in 1881.